This reference tool announces most publications in the field of cultural/social anthropology from the German language area. Since many of these publications have been written in German, and most German publications are not included in major, English language abstracting services, this reference journal offers the opportunity for anthropologists who do not read German, to become aware of publications by anthropologists in German speaking countries. It includes journal articles, monographs, andthologies, exhibition catalogs, yearbooks, etc. So the major idea is to provide the service of communicating material (mainly) published in the German language to non-German speaking scholars.
The Internet version (www-numbers) of Anthropological Abstracts (AA) is published at irregular intervals. No. www-1.1999 supersedes the printed version of the former 'Abstracts in German Anthropology', which ceased publication with no. 25.1997.
From now on, there will be a printed and more voluminous version of Anthropological Abstracts, published by LIT Verlag (Grevener St. 179, 48159 Muenster, Germany / www.lit-verlag.de), which can be subscribed from there. The first printed volume (1.2002) includes the internet versions www.1-3, and some more material (about 25%), which is not part of the internet versions www.1-3. Future print issues of AA will also include more material than the internet versions.
Since it is not possible to include everything there will be a twofold kind of selection - by chance, and consciously. In the first case some material published by non-anthropological publishers may escape my attention, in the second there may be a selection on the basis of perceived 'importance'. Because selection is always there and completeness impossible to attain (in comparing for instance the list of important anthropological thinkers in Feest & Kohl (2001 - in this volume) and in Andrew Edgar's & Peter Sedgwick's "Cultural theory. The key thinkers" (London 2002) one will find not too many overlaps) - this is an anavoidable situation..

Some technical aspects
This reference journal uses a combined and flexible approach of representation: While in most cases abstracts are supplied, for some anthologies and journals (e.g., Zeitschrift für Kulturaustausch, Kea) - because of space limitations - the Current Contents principle is applied, i.e. only authors and titles are printed. So technically, this is a combinded approach: that of an Abstracting reference journal, and the Current Contents principle listing names and titles only; all of the material has been indexed, however.
Abstracts supplied by authors are marked by ## before and after the abstract. Due to space limitations they may be abbreviated. Up to three editors of an anthology will be listed.
Only those papers in journals, yearbooks, catalogs and anthologies will be abstracted that are relevant to cultural/social anthropology - which is mainly applicable in the case of interdisciplinary publications. AA also tries to cover subjects related to, or influencing, anthropology if they are relevant for present discourses. Thus, there may be material from history, folklore studies, linguistics, sociology, philosophy, etc., if there is an intersection with present debates in anthropology.
Keywords after each abstract serve as an "abstract of the abstract" - for quick reference..

The publishers, museums and research institutions must be thanked for their generally prompt deliveries of the books requested for Anthropological Abstracts.
You are welcome to contact us, comment on, make suggestions concerning AA, and we hope this service will be helpful..